Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has criticized FIFA for showing “little consideration” to African teams after the recent change in the deadline for clubs to release players for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The tournament is set to kick off on 21 December, but clubs were initially required to release their African players by 8 December, a date that was recently pushed back to 15 December. Broos believes this leaves national teams with insufficient time to integrate their players ahead of the competition.
Speaking to The Citizen, the Belgian coach questioned how countries that rely heavily on overseas players would cope.
“I am wondering what countries like Morocco, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Mali, who only have players playing abroad, are going to do,” Broos said.
He added: “Morocco will get their players on the 15th and six days later they play their opening game. It shows again what FIFA thinks about Africa. I am sure they were also influenced by European clubs to change the dates.”
Broos’ comments highlight the growing frustration among African coaches and federations over scheduling decisions that appear to favor European clubs at the expense of African national teams.
